In the United States over 6.2 million women struggle with infertility and the numbers are climbing. Up to 60% of couples have difficulty conceiving due to poor sperm motility. Supporting overall nutrition with high-quality, bioavailable nutrients is a safe, simple, and inexpensive approach to improving this condition. Clearing up underlying nutritional weaknesses will not only benefit fertility, it will improve overall health and increase longevity.

Vitamin D continues to to be in the health spotlight due to the staggering number of people who are deficient in this important nutrient. The alarming correlation between hundreds of different illnesses/disorders and low levels of vitamin D has persuaded many health care professionals to encourage supplementation.

A recent study conducted with 84 infertile women found significantly higher rates of pregnancies occurred when blood serum levels of vitamin D were increased. Fertility specialist, Dr. Anne Clark, found that one third of men tested with fertility problems had below normal levels of vitamin D.

Adequate supplementation can fall short even though approximately half of the US population consumes some type of multi-vitamin. Many people don’t know that the US RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamins and minerals was established as minimum amounts to prevent the onset of disease due to severe deficiency for average healthy adult males. RDA’s were not intended as sufficient nutritional amounts to establish health in the general populace or to combat disease. So using only a basic multi-vitamin may still leave many people nutritionally malnourished.

Oligomeric Procyanthocyanidins (OPC’s) are a potent combination of bio-flavonoid antioxidants that inhibit cellular free radical damage. Additionally, OPC’s provide anti-inflammatory activity, cardiovascular and joint health, plus maintenance of healthy cholesterol, vascular, and blood glucose levels. OPC’s have been found to improve fertility in both men and women.

Isotonix OPC-3® contains the only isotonic form of Pycnogenol® in the world. Pycnogenol® is a patented form of French maritime pine bark. A 2002 published study found sperm mobility was increased by 38% after just 90 days of supplementation with Pycnogenol®.

An isotonic formula dramatically increases nutrient delivery into the small intestine, which in turn improves the rate of absorption by as much as 95%! Drinking these nutrients in an isotonic form requires far less digestive effort and delivers more value than typical liquid, capsule, or tablet forms.

A study of Hawaiian skateboarders (who tended not to use sunscreen) validated this recommendation. Even in this group, 51% had significantly low levels of vitamin D. This is noteworthy considering that just 30 minutes of sunlight on the skin produces approximately 10,000 iu’s of vitamin D in the body.

Healthy adults utilized about 4000 iu’s of vitamin D daily. The Vitamin D Council suggests that supplementing with up to 10,000 iu’s daily of vitamin D3 is very safe for most people.

In 2009 a group of researchers in Italy conducted a study to see if an isotonic formula of a known highly effective antioxidant behaved differently on the body compared to the same antioxidant in tablet form.

Isotonix OPC-3® is a powdered antioxidant blend that when mixed with the appropriate amount of water becomes “isotonic“. Isotonic means “same concentration” and is an ideal ratio between solid and liquids that our bodies convert what we ingest into before it can pass into the small intestine.

The four hour test compared Isotonix OPC-3® in a tablet form to Isotonix OPC-3® in its standard isotonic form. The amount of water that was consumed with the tablet was equal to the amount of water used in the isotonic version.

Results of the test were startling. Levels of free radicals were measured in the blood plasma of test subjects. The isotonic OPC-3® reduced free radicals six times more in just 10 minutes compared to the tablet version. The tablet form did eventually reduce free radicals substantially as well, but seriously lagged behind the isotonic form thorough out the four hour test .

Researchers concluded that “the findings demonstrate that the flavonoid mixture provided in isotonic OPC-3® is significantly more bio-available in humans, in terms of antioxidant activity than an equivalent mixture in tablet form.” Overall the isotonic OPC-3® formulation resulted in a stronger antioxidative effect than an equivalent tablet form.

Okay, I’ll admit it’s pretty weird to get excited about toothpaste. It is not a product I have ever had much of an opinion on at all… but that all changed when I tried a new CoQ10 toothpaste that left me teeth unusually clean. Now I am excited over a toothpaste!

It started innocently enough. I knew that CoQ10 is a coenzyme which activates enzymes. CoQ10 is found in every cell in the body and is essential for heart health. What I didn’t know was that CoQ10 has been studied and shown to provide antioxidant benefits to gum tissue. Antioxidants are amazing at maintaining and restoring health, so using an antioxidant toothpaste seemed logical.

Is there any more helpless feeling than not knowing how to sooth a crying baby?

Colic is a perplexing condition when a baby cries and can not be consoled for no apparent reason. Some health care providers think it may be triggered by digestive distress such as gas, cramps, constipation, bloating, heartburn or acid reflux. The cause of these type of physical manifestations can include allergies, lactose-intolerance, or other unidentified conditions.

Consider a high quality aloe vera juice drink to help calm and sooth a wide range of intestinal difficulties.

Aloe vera has been turned to since ancient times for a myriad of health issues from acne and allergies to cancer and colitis. In addition to being an antioxidant, it is antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. When taken internally aloe vera juice provides vitamins, minerals, enzymes, promotes healthy digestion and enhances immune response.

This particular post is very near to my heart. We have three wonderful children but I was as sick as a dog when I was pregnant with all of them. My doctors were unable to resolve my hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy). In fact, the anti-nausea medications they tried actually made my symptoms worse.

Desperate, I tried every other treatment I could find including ginger tea, acupuncture, B-vitamin injections and chiropractic adjustments. Nothing worked. Finally, I was hospitalized for about 10 days during my first pregnancy and put on an i.v. for hydration. With my other two pregnancies I’d go to the hospital for a few hours once or twice a week for i.v. hydration. It was miserable! I wish I knew then what I know now about isotonic nutrients.

Recently my sister-in-law became pregnant and was suffering from hyperemesis as well. My brother had told her about my pregnancies, so she contacted me for suggestions.

Hyperemesis seems to be exacerbated by low B vitamins. Many women are unaware that their bodies naturally have difficulty assimilating B vitamins. In fact, many people in general have difficulty utilizing B vitamins in the form of folic acid. Many would benefit much more from using an activated form of B vitamin called folinic acid.

Kenneth Bock, who wrote Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies stated: “Folinic acid is metabolized differently than ordinary folic acid; and it is important for autistic children to take it in its exact form, instead of just taking folic acid. Also, some kids don’t tolerate folic acid well. The important contribution that folinic acid makes in the methylation process is to help produce methyl-B-12, or methylcobalamin. It helps attach methyls to cobalamine. Folinic acid can become trapped and disabled, and this appears to contribute to a decline in methylation. When it is taken in sufficient amounts as a supplement, however, this problem can be overcome.”

Approximately 30% of the population has difficulty metabolizing folic acid and would benefit from using folinic acid instead. This is especially true during pregnancy when B vitamin deficiency becomes much worse and can trigger nausea and vomiting. At that point, it’s nearly impossible to keep regular prenatal vitamins down, so the deficiency gets even worse. My doctors tried to break this cycle by putting me on daily injections of B vitamin.

Unfortunately, the daily injections didn’t work either, because I am most likely one of the 30% who needs folinic acid. Since then I’ve met other people who also tried vitamin B injections without success. The problem likely stemmed from poor bioavailabilty.

I suggested that my sister-in-law to try the Isotonix® Prenatal Activated Multivitamin for a few reasons. The Isotonix Prenatals are isotonic (which is an ideal solution that can be immediately sent from the stomach to the small intestine), they can be taken on an empty stomach, and contains activated B vitamins and folinic acid. The Isotonix® vitamins are in a powdered form that, when mixed into a specific amount of water, becomes a delicious drinkable and highly bioavailable isotonic solution. Up to 95% of the nutrients are absorbed in minutes.

So I sent her a bottle of Isotonix® PreNatals Activated Multivitamins as a gift. After making sure she received them I didn’t hear from her until she had been out of the vitamins for a few days (a bottle of Isotonix® Prenatals lasts for 1.5 months).

She told me that right after she started drinking the Isotonix® Prenatal Activated Multivitamins she began to feel better. Within 4-5 days she actually felt great. In fact, she felt so good that she thought her nausea must have subsided because her body had adjusted to the hormones. She liked the taste of the Isotonix® Prenatal and never got an upset stomach (like she had with her other “easy to digest” brand of prenatal vitamins). Consequently, she kept drinking the Isotonix® Prenatals until they were gone.

Within four days of running out of the Isotonix® vitamins the nausea and vomiting was back with a vengeance. That’s when she was convinced that her hyperemesis had been controlled by the Isotonix® PreNatal Activated Multivitamins. She ordered another bottle express! After she was back on the product, my sister-in-law felt great again and made sure not to run out for the remainder of her pregnancy.

After my beautiful nephew Jaden was born, she continues to use the Isotonix® supplements post pregnancy because she loves the way these products make her feel.